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PHOENIX — As Triston Casas stood on second base in the ninth inning, he looked at the visitor’s dugout and was met with a loud “Let’s go Red Sox,” chant by the Boston fans who made up a substantial portion of the crowd of 25,467 at Chase Field.
The 23-year-old rookie first baseman made sure to enjoy the moment en route to a 7-2 win over the D-backs on Friday. Casas recorded his third hit of the night, a 102.6 mph, 403-foot double that was inches away from being a home run in one of the deepest parts of the ballpark. It not only capped off a much-needed bounce-back offensive performance for Casas, but the entire lineup, while snapping a four-game losing streak in the process.
“Feels good to know that we’re well represented on the West Coast,” Casas said. “I almost felt like we matched the energy of the Arizona fans as well. I felt like a couple of times that I got hits, their energy was pretty uplifting. So I’m glad to see that we got a good turnout.”
Seven of the nine Red Sox hitters in the starting lineup recorded a hit — with five players having multihit games — but none of them needed it more than Casas.
Casas was hitting .181 coming into Friday, before he went 3-for-5 and was the catalyst behind the Red Sox’s offensive outburst. Casas gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the second inning by lining a double into right field to score Rob Refsnyder. Casas eventually scored on a two-out ground-rule double by Connor Wong. Raimel Tapia singled in Wong to make it 3-0.
In the fourth inning, Casas got the party started with a one-out single. In the next at-bat, Kiké Hernández launched a two-run homer to put the Red Sox up 5-0.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was never going to hit the panic button after Casas’ struggles. He knows that for a young player like Casas, a performance like tonight can put him on the right path to turn it around.
“When you’re at his level, you look around and it’s [a full] 180 everywhere,” Cora said. “You can’t hide it. … It’s not easy, but somehow, some way he shows up every day. Very structured, very committed to his work and good things are going to happen.”
Casas has been praised for his discipline at the plate — he leads the Red Sox with 25 walks — and has the potential to be a big power bat, which is why he said he’s been working on being aggressive when he is ahead in the count.
“If I walk, it [could] take three hits to score me,” Casas said. “I’m in scoring position right when I step in the batter’s box. I understand that my power is the best part of my game. So trying to utilize that to the best of my abilities, while still maintaining what I do really well at the plate, which is match the good eye with the power, [that] has been the battle that I’ve been fighting all year.”
Similarly to Casas, Alex Verdugo struggled as he carried an 0-for-14 slump heading into the game. But Verdugo could be back on track to success at the plate as he went 3-for-5 and knocked in a run. In the sixth inning, he scorched a 112.4 mph double that marked the hardest-hit ball of his career.
Not a bad way for Verdugo to break a slump, especially considering he was back in his home state with about 20 of his family members under the roof at Chase Field.
“Any time you get to hang out with family, it means a lot,” Verdugo said.
While the offense broke out of a slump, left-hander Chris Sale continued to be consistent on the mound. Sale went five innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three. The month of May has treated Sale nicely, allowing just seven earned runs and pitching to a 2.42 ERA over four starts. It was a strong bounce-back performance from a rough April, when Sale posted a 6.75 ERA and allowed 22 earned runs.
Friday’s performance looks more impressive when you take into account that Sale wasn’t feeling his healthiest after dealing with a stomach issue all week.
“Everyone gets sick and has to go to work,” Sale said “So, you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.”